


Pity The Living

by hallieCB3



Series: Post-Canon GoT Fix-It [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Daenerys Deserved Better, F/M, I Stand By Daenerys, I Stand By Jon Snow, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Jonerys, POV Daenerys, POV Jon Snow, Post-Canon Fix-It, Targaryen Restoration
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:34:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24297439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hallieCB3/pseuds/hallieCB3
Summary: (A follow up to "Do Not Pity The Dead")Jon and Daenerys have found each other again and live happily beyond the Wall with a family of their own.Would their past leave them alone or would their destiny will take them back to where they started?
Relationships: Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen
Series: Post-Canon GoT Fix-It [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754092
Comments: 20
Kudos: 32





	1. Arya I

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Well, as I promised, here it is the beginning to a continuation of the story I imagined for a post-canon fix-it of sorts. We will take it from where we left off on "Do Not Pity The Dead" so I recommend you read it first!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya is going back but finds an old foe.

She was running behind the little boy with black, raven curls. Little Daeron's laughter was filling the air with a strange feeling she hadn't felt for a while, perhaps since her days as a girl living in Winterfell.

Thinking of Winterfell was bittersweet now. She wondered what would have happened if her and her sister would have not intervened between Jon and Daenerys as they did.

_"You don't know her yet."_  
_"I'll never know her. She's not one of us."_

How selfish and wrong she was! During this time she had spent with them beyond the Wall, she had gotten the opportunity to get to know Daenerys as she didn't allow herself before.

When she was little, she had admired Visenya Targaryen and wished she had met her.

Her wishes had been granted by getting to know a descendant of her closer, and she could understand why so many people had followed her across the Narrow Sea.

How come she had became so self-conceited about being a Stark, as it no one who didn't have the same family name would be worthy of trust?

At the end, they all had become like the Lannisters they had hated and despised so much. Perhaps Tywin Lannister had been right when he told her she reminded him of his daughter Cersei.

_"We're family. The four of us. The last of the Starks."_  
_"I've never been a Stark."_

It was bittersweet for her to see that the one who resembled her father the most was not his real son and the one who actually got a family and love.

None of her siblings had been so fortunate, even with crowns on their heads. It was as if fate was slowly cursing them, through unrest and a fake sense of accomplishment and apparently winning the game being played.

She was running again behind the little child, but suddenly she lost sight of him and it was already dark.

It was getting colder, and she felt a weird feeling she hadn't feeling for a long time.

She felt herself propelled to jump, and an instinct made her grab the dagger on her belt and use it to kill the foe in front of her. When she felt a strong and cold hand stopping her from stabbing his abdomen, she dropped the dagger and used her other hand to stab her foe.

She looked up, and instead of seeing the Night King, she saw the face of her brother Bran, saying "Why do you think I came all this way?" while his mouth was slowly pouring out blood.

She woke up with a jolt, suddenly not knowing where she was. A heavy headache made her focus and immediately felt the pain on her wrists and feet from being tied. She was not sure how long she'd been prisoner on that ship. 

_"You're good. You're not as good as you think you are."_

First Daenerys defeating her with a sword, and now this.

She had left North and was traveling back to White Harbor. She had stayed longer than what she planned with Jon and his family. The Free Folk had received her warmly, still remembering her as the Hero of Winterfell. She would just chuckle, still feeling uncomfortable of stealing the glory from her brother's hands.

Her ship had been attacked and she had been boarded. Even with all her Faceless Men training, she hadn't seen that blow in the head coming that had knocked her out.

The group of pirates that had taken her prisoner looked familiar. She had been tied and lost the count of the time that had already passed.

The sun was shining outside, or so it seemed, from what she could distinguish from the place where she was kept. Her mouth was gagged so she could not ask for help. And she thought it would have been worthless to waste her energies screaming in the middle of nowhere.

She would doze off tired and bruised, over the cold and uncomfortable wooden surface of the room where she was kept.

In her dreams, she could see herself in Winterfell, at the Great Hall, with her family during a festivity.

Her yearning would lead her to imagine all her family was still alive. Ned Stark would still be the Lord of Winterfell, and he could see them standing on the courtyard waiting for the King and Queen to arrive on royal progress. She could see Catelyn, holding her husband's arm, while her brothers and sister stood aside waiting for their special guests to arrive. She could see Aegon and Daenerys arriving with all their power and might, and she could see her brother dismount to hug his uncle while Daenerys held the reins with one hand and a babe on the other. She could also see the smile of her brother Robb, holding the hand of his wife, waiting to introduce his little son Ned to their majesties. She would play bets with Bran and Rickon, her younger but taller than her brothers, on who would get to get a ride on one of Daenerys's dragons. She would tease them telling them as Jon's favourite cousin, she would go first.

But pain would make her wake up to the reality she was living. A reality far from what could have been. Far from the idea of home and a family.

And suddenly, the door opened and two of those pirates would get inside to take her to their captain. 

She wondered who they were, and what they would want with her. She thought they would kill her and dispose of her immediately to take her ship and belongings.

When she saw the captain, her questions were answered.

"I'd recognize that face anywhere. Not so smug now, are we?"

_"Some of you may be quick to forgive. The Ironborn are not. I swore to follow Daenerys Targaryen."_

_"You swore to follow a tyrant."_

_"She freed us from a tyrant! Cersei is gone because of her and Jon Snow put a knife in her heart! Let the Unsullied give him what he deserves!"_

_"Say another word about killing my brother and I'll cut your throat."_

She saw the smug face of none other than the Queen of the Iron Islands, Yara Greyjoy.

The two members of her crew dropped her to the floor and she tried to hold herself up.

The Ironborn walked towards her. She had the same eyes full of anger she saw looking at her at the Dragonpit.

"What did you say last time we met? Were you going to cut my throat or something like that?"

Yara walked towards her and bent down to whisper at her ear: "Who has the higher ground now?"

The rest of the pirates laughed celebrating the antics of their leader.

She walked back to her seat.

"The Hero of Winterfell! Lady Arya Stark!"

Her blood boiled at the mention of her name. She still hated to be called lady.

"Who would have thought... the mighty Lady of Winterfell who defeated the Night King taken prisoner by a bunch of pirates!"

The crew roared with laughter.

Yara looked at her while she was playing with a dagger.

"Let her speak, I think she might want to say something", Yara said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

One of the Ironborn unsheathed his dagger and cut the gag from her mouth. She just breathed hard, not giving Yara or the Ironborn the satisfaction of hearing her pleading for her life.

Yara's expression got darker.

"I should have stopped Theon from going to Winterfell. I regret that my brother died defending your people."

Her memory took her back to the godswood, looking at the lifeless body of Theon Greyjoy, and she couldn't help to yell back:

"WE WERE HIS REAL FAMILY!"

"Were you? He betrayed your brother as soon as he got to the Iron Islands. I wish he hadn't help your sister to escape Ramsay. You Starks at the end caused more damage than what is worth it."

She took the dagger on her hand and stood up, walking back towards her.

"Just say your last words, Stark."

She was not joking. Yara had the look of someone who doesn't have anything else to lose, and she didn't need to play her old game to know that she was not bluffing. 

Her words back from the Dragonpit council resonated in her head, while for a bit she thought of Little Daeron running from her to his mother arms, while Daenerys laughs filled the air.

"YOUR QUEEN IS ALIVE!"

She could see the disconcerting look in the Ironborn's face. Yara paused for a bit and she just muttered at first: "What. Did. You. Just. Say?"

Arya remained silent. Yara yelled back at her:

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"

"DAENERYS TARGARYEN IS ALIVE! SHE IS ALIVE!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty much I am trying to get all the loose ends from that terrible finale, and this is one I thought it would be quite interesting to get back to. I had said back in the previous fic I didn't care much for the rest of Westeros as long as they left our favourite Targaryens alone, but I think it would be interesting to wonder what happened to the rest during these years. And for some of them, as Yara, I think revenge is best served cold.


	2. Jon/Aegon I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon goes back to a place and meet with people from his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter happens a few months after the previous one.
> 
> My idea was to keep a linear narrative, but I definitely wanted to leave some bread crumbs to figure out where we are going with this story.

_"Ask me again in ten years."_

_"Everywhere she goes, evil men die and we cheer her for it."_

It seemed no time had passed at all and they were back into that made-up dungeon where the last of the Lannisters was imprisoned and he had gone to visit. But so many things had changed between then and now. He would have not imagined it.

He knew time had passed when he managed to look at his reflection at the crystalline water. A few wrinkles here and there, some new scars, but at least it helped to make him look less like a pretty face boy as some would tease him about.

He looked down at the doublet he was wearing, which now showed a red dragon with three heads, along with the direwolf emblem he used to wear before. His appearance was not the only thing that had changed after all these years.

He looked at his wrist and a sight of a small tiny red bracelet made by Little Rhaella gave him confidence.

A familiar figure was standing in front of the dungeon's cell door, wearing a similar light armour like the one the Unsullied were wearing when he first met them.

He nodded to Greyworm, who was standing in front of him. His face showed time had passed, but deep in his eyes he could always see the lingering pain of not being able to save the one he loved, regardless on how many enemies he would slaughter to try to compensate.

It was as if all the bricks that fell over the body of Cersei Lannister and crushed her limbs had been moved not by gravity, but by the pain and sorrow she had caused to the former Master of War of Daenerys Targaryen.

He still didn't understand how he didn't kill him all those years ago after what he did to Daenerys.

There was no use on looking back. He inhaled deeply, thinking of all the times Daenerys had told him that if they looked back, they were lost.

He opened the door and there he was. Time hadn't been kind to the last of the Lannisters. It seemed that, even if he had the responsibility on his hands to handle the Six Kingdoms on behalf of the King, the weight of it plus drowning his worries and sorrows in wine and prostitutes had aged him completely. No wonder why Westeros had been in a worse place than how it was after all those years of unrest.

"The Bastard of Winterfell!"

It seemed his sharp and bitter tongue hadn't changed, though.

He thought of that time when he and his men arrived to Dragonstone, and Tyrion used the same words to greet him.

He was about to reply when Greyworm spoke first:

"You will use the proper way to address His Majesty!", he said with a menacing look towards Tyrion.

"Leave him be, Greyworm. Wouldn't expect less from the Dwarf of Casterly Rock."

He looked to the Unsullied with a reassuring gesture.

"I've never been a bastard and you know it well. I am Aegon of the Houses Targaryen and Stark."

"It seems you finally accepted who you really are" Tyrion said with a mocking tone.

"Later than I should have. Perhaps a lot of things would have been prevented. Like all the damage you've done to the realm."

"You were not so sure back then."

"Yes, I was a fool for listening to you. You told me to ask you again in ten years if it had been worth it. I didn't even need one year to realize I had fucked up big time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> I was strongly tempted to leave Jon and Dany live happily ever after beyond the Wall, but I wanted a Targaryen Restoration where they fulfilled their fate as two rulers who always wanted the best for their people (and I think the fact that the producers keep going on with their wretched anti-Dany campaign fuels the inspiration to complete this).


End file.
